Tassie's health problem has been building a long time

July 18, 2025

The issues with the Tasmanian health system have been festering for many years. It was obvious from the first time I visited more than 30 years ago and it has become increasingly worse.

Even then, retirees were “invading” our southern isle, as those from Sydney and Melbourne were able to buy substantial, well-located property, often for about half the amount they realised on the sale of their previous home, and so it was a “no-brainer” if you wanted to leave big city life, while also improving the state of your liquid assets.

This trend has only continued, resulting in another problem, that of increasing housing costs for young people wanting to enter the market.

At the same time, young people continued to leave for the “north island” accentuating the growing problem.

About 25 years ago, the then ACT Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, said he didn’t want to be in government in 2030, as he didn’t know how the health bill would be paid.

Unless, and until, a new funding model is developed, including self-funded retirees like myself at least paying the Medicare levy, this problem will continue to grow exponentially!